Do-it-yourself craft with a plastic ornament cap

ABSTRACT

A do-it-yourself craft includes a solid, spherical base constructed of a material selected from a group consisting of a closed-cell extruded and an expanded polystyrene foam and a mounting portion attached to the base. The mounting portion includes an anchor, a plastic cap and an eyelet. The anchor includes a lower portion defining a plurality of threads engaged with the base and an upper portion defining an opening. The plastic cap includes a circumferentially extending sidewall and an end wall having a hole. The hole is aligned with the opening of the anchor. The eyelet includes a lower threaded portion passing through the hole in the end wall of the plastic cap and engaged with the opening in the anchor.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/567,333 filed 3 Oct. 2017, which application is herein expressly incorporated by reference.

FIELD

The present disclosure generally relates to do-it-yourself crafts. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a do-it-yourself craft with a plastic ornament cap. The present disclosure also pertains to a related method.

BACKGROUND

This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.

Commonly known holiday ornaments include a spherical ornamental ball and a mounting portion. The mounting portion includes a metal cap for attachment to the ornamental ball and a wire for receiving a hook.

Do-it-yourself crafting has become a very big industry. It is often desired to replicate the appearance of a conventional holiday ornament with a ball made of STYROFOAM™ or similar material in place of the spherical ornamental ball that is generally constructed of plastic, glass or similar material.

While known do-it-yourself craft products have proven to be acceptable for their intended purposes, a continuous need for improvement and/or variation in the relevant area remains.

SUMMARY

This section provides a general summary of the disclosure and is not a comprehensive disclosure of its full scope or all of its features.

In accordance with one aspect, the present teachings provide a mounting arrangement for a do-it-yourself craft. The mounting arrangement includes an anchor, a plastic cap and an eyelet.

In accordance with another aspect, the present teachings provide a do-it-yourself craft including a base and a mounting portion attached to the base. The mounting portion includes an anchor, a plastic cap and an eyelet.

In accordance with a more particular aspect, the present teachings provide a do-it-yourself craft including a solid, spherical base constructed of a closed-cell extruded or expanded polystyrene foam and a mounting portion attached to the base. The mounting portion includes an anchor, a plastic cap and an eyelet. The anchor includes a lower portion defining a plurality of threads engaged with the base and an upper portion defining an opening. The plastic cap includes a circumferentially extending sidewall and an end wall having a hole. The hole is aligned with the opening of the anchor. The eyelet includes a lower threaded portion passing through the hole in the end wall of the plastic cap and engaged with the opening in the anchor.

In accordance with yet another aspect, the present teachings provide a method of making a do-it-yourself craft. The method includes providing a solid, spherical base constructed of a material selected from a group consisting of a closed-cell extruded foam and an expanded polystyrene foam. The method additionally includes providing a mounting arrangement including an anchor; a plastic cap, and an eyelet and assembling the mounting arrangement by passing a lower threaded portion of the eyelet through a hole in an end wall of the plastic cap and threading the lower threaded portion of the eyelet into an opening in the anchor to draw the plastic cap tight against the anchor. The method further includes securing the assembled mounting arrangement to the base by screwing a lower threaded portion of the anchor into the base. Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. The description and specific examples in this summary are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

DRAWINGS

The drawings described herein are for illustrative purposes only of selected embodiments and not all possible implementations, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a side view of a do-it-yourself craft including a plastic ornament cap according to the present teachings.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the do-it-yourself craft of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3A is a perspective view of the plastic ornament cap of FIG. 1 removed from the do-it-yourself craft for purposes of illustration.

FIG. 3B is another perspective view of the plastic ornament cap of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3C is a top view of the plastic ornament cap of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3D is a bottom view of the plastic ornament cap of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3E is a side view of the plastic ornament cap of FIG. 1, it being understood that all other sides appear identical.

FIG. 4A is a perspective view of another plastic ornament cap for a do-it-yourself craft in accordance with the present teachings.

FIG. 4B is another perspective view of the plastic ornament cap of FIG. 4A.

FIG. 4C is a top view of the plastic ornament cap of FIG. 4A.

FIG. 4D is a bottom view of the plastic ornament cap of FIG. 4A.

FIG. 4E is a side view of the plastic ornament cap of FIG. 4A, it being understood that all other sides appear identical.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Example embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and will fully convey the scope to those who are skilled in the art. Numerous specific details are set forth such as examples of specific components, devices, and methods, to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that specific details need not be employed, that the example embodiment should not be construed to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Well-known processes, well-known device structures, and well-known technologies are not described herein in detail.

With initial reference to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3A-3E, a preformed do-it-yourself craft according to the present teachings is illustrated and generally identified at reference character 10. The do-it-yourself craft 10 is illustrated to generally include a preformed base 12. The preformed base 12 may be spherical in shape. Those skilled in the art, however, will appreciated that the preformed base 12 may take other shapes within the scope of the present teachings. The preformed base 12 may be solid and may be constructed of a closed-cell extruded or expanded polystyrene foam. One such material is available under the trademark STYROFOAM™.

The mounting arrangement 14 may be a three-part assembly including an anchor 16, a cap 18 and an eyelet 20. The anchor 16 may include plastic, for example, and may include a thread 22 for coupling to the base 12. The thread 22 may be self-drilling. The anchor 16 may further include an upper end defining an opening 24.

The cap 18 may be a plastic molded cap 18. In one particular application, the cap 18 may have a diameter of approximately 2.0″ and a height of approximately 1.0″. It will be understood, however, that these dimensions are merely exemplary and may be adapted for particular uses within the scope of the present teachings.

As shown particularly in the detail views of FIGS. 3A-3E, the cap 18 includes a sidewall 18A and an end wall 18B. The sidewall 18A may be undulated for ornamentation purposes. In other applications, the sidewall 18A may be cylindrical or other shapes within the scope of the present teachings. A cylindrical portion 18C may downwardly extend from the end wall 18B.

The cap 18 may be plated plastic or molded plastic, for example.

The eyelet 20 may be plastic or metal. As illustrated, the eyelet 20 may include a threaded portion 26 for threadably engaging the opening 24 in the anchor 16. The eyelet 20 is further illustrated to include an upper eye portion 28 for conventionally receiving a hook (not shown).

The mounting portion 14 is secured to the base 12 of the do-it-yourself craft 10 by first inserting the eyelet 20 through the hole 30 in the end wall 18B. The eyelet thread 26 will extend beyond the cylindrical portion 18C under the end wall 18B. The anchor 16 is attached by aligning the anchor opening 24 to the eyelet thread 26 and screwing it tight to cylindrical portion 18C. The assembled mounting portion 14 is then attached to the base 12 by screwing the anchor 16 into the base 12 using the loop 28 in the eyelet 20 to tighten it fast.

Turning to FIGS. 4A-4E, another plastic cap in accordance with the present teachings and generally identified at reference character 100. Given the similarities between the cap 18 and the cap 100, common reference characters are used to identify similar elements. The cap 100 differs from the cap 18 by incorporating a different sidewall 18A′. Otherwise, it will be understood that the caps 18 and 100 are substantially identical. The sidewall 18′ may include a plurality of planar segments 102 each ornamented with a plurality of holes 104.

The foregoing description of the embodiments has been provided for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure. Individual elements or features of a particular embodiment are generally not limited to that particular embodiment, but, where applicable, are interchangeable and can be used in a selected embodiment, even if not specifically shown or described. The same may also be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the disclosure, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the disclosure. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A mounting arrangement for a do-it-yourself craft, the mounting arrangement comprising: an anchor; a plastic cap; and an eyelet.
 2. The mounting arrangement for a do-it-yourself craft of claim 1, wherein the anchor includes a threaded portion and an upper end defining an opening for threadably receiving the eyelet.
 3. The mounting arrangement for a do-it-yourself craft of claim 1, wherein a plastic cap includes a circumferentially extending sidewall and an end wall.
 4. The mounting arrangement for a do-it-yourself craft of claim 1, wherein the eyelet includes a lower portion and an upper portion, the lower portion threadably engaged in an upper opening of the anchor, the upper portion for hanging the do-it-yourself craft upon completion.
 5. A do-it-yourself craft comprising: a base; and a mounting portion attached to the base, the mounting portion including an anchor, a plastic cap, and an eyelet.
 6. The do-it-yourself craft of claim 5, wherein the base is constructed of a material selected from a group consisting of a closed-cell extruded foam and an expanded polystyrene foam.
 7. The do-it-yourself craft of claim 5, wherein the eyelet includes a lower, threaded portion extending through a hole in an end wall of the plastic cap and threadably engaged with the anchor.
 8. The do-it-yourself craft of claim 6, wherein the eyelet further includes an upper eye portion for hanging the do-it-yourself craft upon completion.
 9. The do-it-yourself craft of claim 7, wherein the plastic cap further includes a portion downwardly extending from the end wall and a sidewall circumferentially extending around the portion downwardly extending from the end wall, the hole passing through the portion downwardly extending from the end wall, the anchor drawn tight against the portion downwardly extending from the end wall by the eyelet.
 10. A do-it-yourself craft comprising: a solid, spherical base constructed of a material selected from a group consisting of a closed-cell extruded foam and an expanded polystyrene foam; and a mounting portion attached to the base, the mounting portion including: an anchor including a lower portion defining a plurality of threads engaged with the base and an upper portion defining an opening; a plastic cap including a circumferentially extending sidewall and an end wall having a hole, the hole aligned with the opening of the anchor; and an eyelet including a lower threaded portion passing through the hole in the end wall of the plastic cap and engaging the opening in the anchor.
 11. The do-it-yourself craft of claim 10, wherein the plastic cap further includes a portion downwardly extending from the end wall, the sidewall circumferentially extending around the portion downwardly extending from the end wall, the hole passing through the portion downwardly extending from the end wall, the anchor drawn tight against the portion downwardly extending from the end wall by the eyelet.
 12. A method of making a do-it-yourself craft, the method comprising: providing a solid, spherical base constructed of a material selected from a group consisting of a closed-cell extruded foam and an expanded polystyrene foam; providing a mounting arrangement including an anchor; a plastic cap, and an eyelet; assembling the mounting arrangement by passing a lower threaded portion of the eyelet through a hole in an end wall of the plastic cap and threading the lower threaded portion of the eyelet into an opening in the anchor to draw the plastic cap tight against the anchor; securing the assembled mounting arrangement to the base by screwing a lower threaded portion of the anchor into the base.
 13. The method of claim 12, further comprising decorating the base.
 14. The method of claim 14, further comprising hanging the completed do-it-yourself craft by an upper eye portion of the eyelet. 